AXIAL COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF WEB-TAPERED MEMBERS

Abstract

The Current practice for the design of I-columns in different design codes is based on local stability of individual plate elements (web and flange), global stability of the whole member, and local-global stability interaction. The current procedure for column design in North American specifications was tested against verified finite element model results. One method was chosen; possible improvements for this method were suggested.

The common practice of metal building frames manufactures is to use tapered welded built-up members with doubly symmetric and/or singly symmetric cross sections. The current North American specifications AISC 2010, AISI 2007 address only a small range of practical design situations for frames with web-tapered members. As a result, metal building manufacturers have tended to develop their own methods for design of the wide range of nonprismatic member geometries and configurations encountered in practice. Hence, based on a wide range parametric study results recommended procedure for the design of such sections was suggested.